Tuchel and Lukaku reactions after Chelsea FC win over Aston Villa.

The win at Villa Park means Chelsea are now level on points with second-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand, and six behind Man City.

FT: Aston Villa 1-3 Chelsea

Lukaku was key to Chelsea's win over Villa on boxing day [Sky Sports Screen Shot]

Tuchel isn’t happy with the festive scheduling, claiming he doesn’t have enough players.

Thomas Tuchel expressed his disappointment with the busy schedule Chelsea FC are battling with, saying “they make us play. We play two more cup games. We play against teams with games postponed. This cannot be the right way.”

Italy international Jorginho registered a brace from the penalty spot as the West London club fought back from a goal down to beat Aston Villa 3-1.

The win at Villa Park yesterday means Chelsea are now level on points with second-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

Steven Gerrard’s Villans took the lead in the 28th minute when Matt Targett's cross from the left glanced off Chelsea defender Reece James and diverted past goalkeeper Edouard Mendy into the net.

The hosts didn’t hold on to the lead for too long as Chelsea levelled up the score six minutes later when winger Callum Hudson-Odoi was brought down by Marty Cash in the 18-yard box, and midfielder Jorginho found the net from the penalty spot.

Then Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, who had missed three matches because of Covid-19, came off the bench at the start of the second half and rewarded Tuchel for his decision by scoring with a brilliant header within 11 minutes.

Lukaku, causing all sorts of problems for the Villa defence, helped create the Blues’ third goal by winning a penalty after a long run in injury time, and, Jorginho stepped up again to make it 3-1 to the away side.

It was Chelsea’s first win in three Premier League matches, leaving them six points table-toppers Manchester City.

Tuchel - 'They make us play all the time'

Lukaku won a penalty to help Chelsea win Villa 3-1 on boxing day [Sky Sports Screen Shot]

“We have another injured player. We play against a team with no international duty. At some stage it’ll catch us,” Tuchel told Sky Sports.

Tuchel hails “great mentality” showed against Brentford in the Carabao Cup.

"We let Callum Hudson-Odoi play 90 minutes because we needed to change other players. Who decided that? They make us play. We play two more cup games. We play against teams with games postponed. This cannot be the right way. "Not enough changes for us. Five subs was invented because of Coronavirus. Europe has a winter break but we play through and put it on the players' shoulders. They make us play all the time even if we have Covid. We have new injuries and it won’t stop. People at the green table, in offices make these decisions. "It’s not fair today. He [Lukaku] had a very good performance. He’s not ready for that even if he wants it. We’ve all been in bed for 10 days with flu. He was a game changer today. I’m super impressed with the guys but I’m super concerned. "We will have the same discussion on Wednesday again. Nobody asked us. If we say what we want to change it’s not possible. "We are struggling, we are pressing our players. I have maximum respect for what the players did today. "We do changes because of injuries. We don’t change for tactical reasons anymore. We thought Hudson-Odoi can share minutes with Lukaku but Kante is injured, Silva is injured. We have three changes. It backfired on us. Hudson-Odoi was outstanding today, one of his very best performances. We were in doubt he can play one half but he played 90 minutes."

Lukaku - ‘I needed a performance like this’

Lukaku says he needed a superb performance like the one he showed against Aston Villa

Goalscorer Lukaku was pleased with his display in the second half, saying he “needed a performance like this.”

The Big Belgian explained: “I needed a performance like this today. It’s been difficult getting to the end of games. I kept working hard. I’m happy with my performance and have to push on. “I try to be less static and on the move all the time. It was a brilliant cross. My preferred action is running into space, using my speed and my power. "We are the hunters now. The last results were not the best and now we have to chase. We have to treat every game like a final. Today we won and now we have to push on. "We had to win the game. Credit to Steven Gerrard and his staff. It was not easy for us. Our quality came through."

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